The Twist
by apple200
Summary: Everyone has secrets they want hidden and Castle is no exception. However when his secret walks into the precinct, admits to murder and threatens the city he has no idea what's going on. All he knows is that the team has eight hours, eight hours to meet her demands and save eight people who are connected in an unseen way, all while trying to work out what she really wants. Caskett
1. Chapter 1

Kate Beckett sighed, the day had dragged on far too long for her liking and it was only nine in the morning. Castle wasn't here and wouldn't be unless a body turned up and for some reason New York was not providing today. She groaned at the thought, she wanted a murder just to see him! That added three levels to the idea of creepy.

"Excuse me," a soft voice broke her concentration from the stack of paperwork in front of her, looking for any excuse to get away from it she looked up. Standing in front of her was a young woman with a curious expression and a glint in her eye. On the surface both woman were around the same age. She was young and slim with a dazzling smile and crystal blue eyes. Blood red lipstick stood out on her smooth pale face which was curved into a smile. Flowing red hair snaked down her neck and rested on her shoulders. She was wearing a tight dress which was attracting a great deal of attention from a number of male cops.

"Yes can I help you?" Beckett asked looking up; the woman seemed confused or trying to work something out. For some reason she recognised her from somewhere, she just could not place where.

"Are you detective Kate Beckett?" she asked. Confused she replied with a simple nod, wondering what the woman wanted. Though confused as to how she was able to just walk in and ask. Anyway the woman must have asked to see her, or maybe she had just walked in. Though as she thought the woman looked relived and her hand slipped behind her.

"Oh good, I am just here to let you know I just killed about eight people and indeed to kill another eight, and just to prove I'm making a serious point," her explanation was faster than seemingly anything as before Kate could respond the woman had produced a gun. Not only did she produce but fired it three times into the air.

"Get down!" She heard Esposito gruffly command, Kate didn't move. She was stunned, this couldn't be happening. It was so quick and just... weird.

"Ok?" came the next question as the woman before her calmly placed the gun on her desk, raised her hands in the air and allowed the officers to restrain her.

Meanwhile 

"Dad have you seen the news!" an alarmed Alexis demanded from her relaxed position on the couch, her eyes transfixed on the programme in front of her. Her father from the kitchen turned to with a yawn.

"What?" he asked sleepily, he had only just got up. Though his expression changed the moment he saw the headline and heard the sound of his mother emerging from her room.

"I can't find the remote," Alex muttered aloud looking slightly worried as she studied the area around her. She had a day of movies and TV planned thanks to a teaching strike which had been slotted into second place on the news schedule.

"Morning everyone!" Martha's dramatic greeting sounded as they heard her footsteps approach.

"Change it, change it, change it!" he ordered in a sudden panic running forward and diving towards the TV. It was off just in the nick of time.

"What's going on in here?" Martha asked seeing her son sprawled on the carpet with one hand on the TV and her granddaughter looking a little pale. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the room.

"Nothing mother, why would something be going on?" the man asked putting on a lopsided grin, causing his mother to frown.

"Ok kiddo what's going on?" the older woman demanded in suspicious tones, looking confused and agitated at the same time.

"Nothing, nothing. Trust me!" Rick affirmed trying to find a way out of the situation.

"Dad's trying to stop me asking a boy to prom," Alexis interrupted seeing a chance to smokescreen everything. Martha glared at Castle.

"Richard!" she scolded looking ready to jump into a rant about how her son needed to let Alexis be herself but while this would normally have been a headache today it was a blessing.

"Now if Alexis wants to ask a boy out she can, goodness Richard you had me worried it was something serious," she finished before taking a seat at the table and sighing.

"So what are you doing today mother?" Castle asked leaning on the table, a little too close to her. After glaring upwards and darkly she decided to answer.

"I've got a class at two but that's it, why?" she asked. She was very suspicious about everything that was going on, it seemed strange.

"No reason, breakfast?" he offered with a smile. His mother frowned

"Don't think you can remedy the situation with food," his mother scorned looking towards her supposedly annoyed granddaughter.

"Pancakes Dad," Alexis interjected causing Martha to roll her eyes. Then with a tut she corrected herself.

"Find don't expect to remedy me with food, but yes breakfast," the woman responded as the letterbox clanged loudly.

"That'll be the paper," Alexis looked alarmed and rushed over to grab it before her grandmother could even glance up.

"Something in there you want kiddo?" Martha asked with a frown, she knew something was up. She just didn't know what.

"No Grams just, want to catch up on the news," Alexis reasoned hurrying back to the couch with only the sports section visible.

"Turn the TV on then," Martha suggested causing Alexis's face to drop in worry. She looked flushed and towards her dad for an answer.

"Umm she can't, the noise is bad," he mumbled.

"Really? Your writer talents couldn't come up with anything better? Ok you two what is going on?" Martha demanded looking a mixture of angry, worried and confused. Mostly angry though. However before anyone had a chance to say anything Rick's mobile rang.

"Castle," he answered thanking every possible God, deity and ghost for the distraction.

"Ok be right there," he had a case.

"Well I'd love to stay and chat but I gotta go, see you later," he excused himself as his daughter glared at him. Angry that he was escaping.

"Oh and I need to see Dr Parish," Alexis realised looking alert of all a sudden.

"I thought you stopped shadowing her," Martha questioned being alert to seemingly every slip up.

"Yeah but I need to... get a reference!" Alexis explained

"I'll drive," Rick offered quickly ushering himself and his daughter out of the loft leaving behind a very confused Martha Rodgers.

12th Precinct

"Castle you look like you've seen a ghost," Kate remarked as she saw Castle almost ran into the twelfth with a bundle of red hair following him.

"Alexis?" Beckett questioned, why was Castle bringing his daughter here? It wasn't the best place for kids normally but with everything that happened.

"Hey Kate," the girl responded looking like a huge weight was off her chest.

"What's going on?" she asked looking bewildered. They both looked like they had just been bombed or at least had the shock of their lives.

"Sorry but I have had most terrifying morning of my life," he replied not knowing about everything that had transpired not an hour ago.

"Well I think I've had a worse one," she commented as Castle sank into his usual seat, he hadn't brought coffee. She knew something was up just by that but before she could comment.

"What's going on around here?" Rick asked seeing that a lot more officers were around than normal and everyone looking busy or worried about something.

"We had an incident this morning, you see," Kate began not knowing how to explain what had happened. The woman was currently in an interrogation room, no one knowing quite how to respond. Did they wait for homeland security or go after her now?

"Mr Castle who's that?" a stern voice asked and Beckett looked away as Captain Gates emerged from her office, with eyes set firmly on Alexis. Looking somewhat agitated and under the circumstances she was justified.

"This is Alexis my..." he tried to explain realising that she didn't like him being here, let alone his teenage daughter. Though as the imposing woman marched forward he realised he had no excuse.

"I know who it is Mr Castle; I want to know why she's here. While I love you want to spend time with your daughter this really isn't the place," Gates scorned walking towards them in furious strides. Castle looked around, hoping a solution would present itself in the few precious seconds he had left.

"Actually I'm here to see you," Alexis answered, catching the woman off guard. Giving Alexis a few moments to think of how to continue with what she was saying. She needed any excuse to avoid going to back to the loft to a grandmother who would have heard by now.

"I'm doing a report on the positions women hold in official offices and my Dad often mentions that you have had a long career in the force and I was wondering if you would mind telling me a bit about it," she answered making up the entire story on the spot.

"Oh, umm well..." Gates was surprised, flattered to some extent and Castle stared at his daughter, wanting to comment on how fluently she lied. Though he could hardly do so right now.

"Well I am in the middle of something but if you hang around I can sort something out," the captain decided, having lost her train of thought and was quickly sidetracked by another officer.

"Ok what the hell is going on with you two?" Beckett inquired, she knew both Castle and Alexis and neither of them were ever this panicked or would lie to Gates so easily. Well Castle maybe.

"Wait you never told her?" Alexis asked, she could see the logic but had assumed the pair shared a lot more.

"Told me what?" Katie interrupted feeling like the father and daughter were a million miles away.

"It's a long story," Castle attempted to begin, there were some things in the world he preferred not to talk about and this was one of them.

"A long story about what?" Beckett demanded finally, tired of not being part of the conversation.

"Well you explain I'll get some coffee," Alexis excused herself before the conversation could continue. No she liked to avoid any conversation where her father had to explain something sensitive. Though this conversation she would give a hundred misses. No instead she ran off to the break room intending to spend as long as she could making coffee,

"Alexis?" Ryan questioned as she appeared in the door, he wasn't overly shocked after what had happened. It would take a lot more to really shock him today but he was not sure why Castle's daughter was here.

"Oh hi detective Ryan, how are you doing?" she greeted, for a moment she had forgotten she wasn't actually supposed to be here. No she was only here thanks to a quickly constructed excuse which was going to keep her here for a while, a long while.

"Fine, what are you doing here?" he asked eventually as she began fiddling with the espresso machine her father had bought.

"Dad got some news this morning, news that involves him hiding all day," Alexis explained awkwardly only adding to mounds of confusion being piled upon Ryan.

"Thanks for the help getting those bullets out the ceiling by the way... oh hi Alexis," Esposito trailed off looking slightly annoyed when he saw the young girl.

"Hi, someone shot the ceiling?" Alexis questioned with a frown, she hadn't heard of this but then again she had been preoccupied all morning.

"Yeah, someone came in, fired a few shots into the ceiling and then pretty much handed herself over," Ryan confirmed not wanting to panic the teen by making her think someone was trying to attack the precinct.

"Who?" Alexis questioned unable to understand who would do such a thing, at least until Esposito pointed towards the cells.

"Some mental, you know she looks a little like you Alexis," Ryan half joked, then the girl was alert. Either the comment had offended her or something had clicked in her brain.

"This woman; about Kate's height, with pale skin, really blue eyes, my colour hair and about the same length. Probably wearing something overly revealing or tight and would have been really polite and then said or done something insane. Is that her?" Alexis half asked, half stated.

"You know her?" Esposito questioned, she had got the description almost exact.

"Where is she?" she asked forgetting the coffee.

"Down the hall," Ryan muttered but the girl moved in a blur, striding towards the cells with the two detectives briskily following.

"Do you know what's going on?" Esposito asked Ryan who shrugged, neither of stopping the girl who was proving to be overly helpful. At least until she entered the viewing area from which the woman in question was sat calmly.

"Great," Alexis muttered looking embarrassed and relived. Then she turned to the detectives.

"Could you go get my dad and tell him Aunt Susan's here,"


	2. Chapter 2

She didn't even flinch when Esposito entered the room; instead she looked up mildly disinterested until he sat down.

"So he already told you?" she half questioned, half stated looking put out. Not overly so but enough to make it show.

"Told me what?" the man asked from the other side of the table, already sensing she would be much more difficult to interrogate than most criminals who passed through, no there was something challenging about her, something he couldn't place.

"Don't do this, acting is something I have extensive knowledge of, but you knew that already. Richard told you," she sighed flicking her long red locks in irritation.

"What could he tell me?" Esposito wondered aloud, he was supposed to be asking the questions, not her.

"That I'm his sister, well half sister. Confined to a mental institution when I was eighteen, escaped three times and have killed an official total of six people," she recited perfectly as if she was reading it from a book.

"And unofficially?" was the next question

"Double it, times it by five, divide by ten and you're still nowhere near. Listen detective you seem nice, you're not an obstruction, however you are not a friend. My intention was to see detective Beckett and my brother, now in a moment you will leave this room and they will return. From there I shall direct them towards the first,"

"First what?" Esposito demanded, putting slight aggression into his voice, wanting to shake her a bit. It didn't work, she seemed bored if anything.

"First victim, I told Detective Beckett. I murdered eight people last night, they were unconnected but I needed an easy number to make me seem even more insane and worrisome. Eight people are currently in the city, all eight of them are what I call obstructions and all eight will die. One an hour and you only have half an hour before the countdown begins. So Detective it is up to you, we can keep chatting or you could have a go at saving some lives."

Meanwhile 

"Susan Anne Rodgers," Castle sighed as he watched the scene play out before him, he could see his mothers' acting spark as she spoke. Not that he would ever tell her. Martha hated her daughter in every sense of the world. Any comparison would end the day poorly and when the woman found out Susan had escaped; her reaction was going to be severe.

"You never told us you had a sister Castle," Beckett muttered studying the woman behind the glass intently.

"She's not exactly the pride of the family," Alexis pointed out, sitting at the back. All eyes were on her.

"Why is she in here again?" Gates asked sharply,

"She and Susan get on, well got on. The second time she escaped was when Alexis was thirteen; she had been out with friends but was on the way home. All I know is someone was following her, whatever they wanted they never got. All of them died on the same night. The next thing I know Susan and Alexis are eating dinner in a pizza place, surrounded by armed police," Richard answered shuddering. He still regretted letting her go out and never forgave his sister. Not that she cared.

"If she escaped from a mental home then how did she get past the front desk?" Beckett asked suddenly

"She didn't, no one saw her, no CCTV and nothing else," Ryan answered.

"Don't worry about it, she likes to confuse," Castle muttered with a scornful look.

"Is she telling the truth about these eight people?" Gates turned to Castle who sighed

"She doesn't tend to lie," he told her begrudgingly.

"In which case we might have eight people in serious danger and that is a risk I will not take. Miss Castle your report can wait go home!" Gates instructed quickly. Alexis looked ready to protest, Martha would have heard by now and she was not going to be happy. Though she slinked away the moment the seriousness of the situation sunk in.

"Get Esposito out of there, Castle Beckett you need to go in there and find out what she wants,"

Later

"Richard," Susan beamed the moment the two entered the room,

"Sister," Rick replied looking a mixture of angry and disgusted.

"Is that it? We haven't seen each other in a long while? You used to visit a lot more," she pointed out; ignoring Kate completely.

"Then you kidnapped Alexis," Castle growled

"Saved, and you must be Kate," the smiling woman looked to the cold detective before her.

"Detective Beckett, "Kate corrected quickly.

"I'll keep it in mind," was her ever so slightly challenging reply.

"Miss Rodgers you said this morning you killed eight people and...

"Intend to kill eight more yes that is correct," Susan finished sounding bored.

"Then how are you intending to do this?" Kate asked, the woman simply smiled and looked around.

"Well I'm not going to do it from here, no the murders I have in mind will take place thanks to slow acting poisons, well timed traps and also a number of friends I have throughout the city," she answered simply, in a voice that made it sound like it was no big deal.

"Why are you going to kill these people?" Beckett inquired, if she could find a motive she could find the victims. Susan just shook her head.

"Listen if you help me then I can put in a good word..."

"To who detective? The District Attorney wouldn't dare press a case, in case Richard didn't explain it clearly enough I escaped from a mental home. This is the fourth time. I happen to be rather loopy and as we speak I'm sure the many doctors I have want me back, so don't try that,"

"Miss Rodgers..." Beckett attempted to begin.

"No I've had enough from you, Brother dear please ask the next question," Susan requested turning to her brother.

"Why are you going to kill these people?" Beckett demanded again, this time in a slightly louder voice. Susan just looked at Rick.

"Who are these people?" he asked and a smile came across her face.

"Never leave it to chance, thank you Richard. The people I intend to kill are obstructions,"

"Obstructions to what?" Kate interrupted looking stern, her interrogation tactics seemed to be failing, then again it was a strange occurrence. Interrogating a killer before the murders had actually happened.

"Telling you would ruin the game, however I guarantee whether you find the victims or not I will win the game," Susan announced dramatically.

"Who are these people!" Kate asked a final time looking dark.

"I can't tell you that, though I will give you a clue. A number of clues in fact, you have fifteen minutes before the first hour begins. In that time you need to save a man. So the clue is this. Fifty Four."

"I'm sorry?" Beckett queried unsure of what she was saying.

"Fifty Four, as in the number. Right that's it, see me an hour and a bit and do tell me if you saved him, if not oh well. Say hi to Alexis for me and tell her I'll stop by when she finally gets to college, oh and do say hello to mother for me. Then get a picture of her face and show me,"


End file.
